Aniron (I Desire)
by SamaelSammy
Summary: Happy with his reclusive stay away from the politics of the Fae Kingdom, Castiel prefers the company of his books and the Empress' lover Charlie as his only companions. But when his mischievous brother Gabriel gets in over his head after a debacle in the Human World, Castiel soon finds himself dragged into the depths along with him... and his dreams haunted by a pair of hazel eyes.
1. Oíche Chiúin Chorale

The clatter of agitated hoof-beats disrupted the normally peaceful and silent mood of one of the many castle gardens. Leaning against a thick branch of a weeping cherry tree, the slender figure of a male reached out to brush a few of the falling flowers off of the book he'd been reading. As the rough clattering noise came to an abrupt stop somewhere nearby, the man looked up.

Cerulean blue eyes narrowed slightly when the man finally took in just who had paid him a visit; another male, one of which he was very familiar with. The sound of hooves meeting the cobbled pathway, cracked through the usual silence.

"Castiel."

The man with the book sighed softly, marking his page before he shut the book and set it down beside him. He knew better than to ignore the person addressing him. Castiel looked up at his oldest brother, one of five older brothers whom normally left him to his own devices. He was disappointed to be disturbed from that routine, by the one brother who spoke to him the least, no less.

"Michael." He returned, inclining his head respectfully for a shallow bow from his seated position in the grass. "Is something wrong?"

Normally, Michael was the picture of stoic composure; there were very few times that Castiel had ever seen his brother display open emotion such as the irate stiffness that practically advertised his annoyance. But as it stood, his brother -who was a pegataur and so held the body of half a man above the hip, and the body of a horse below with grand white wings- stomped the ground like a young impatient foal.

Brilliant gold and bronze strings of wire adorned his figure, intricately woven and speckled with ruby and emerald gems. They danced under the powerful shift of muscle, adding their own assortment of sounds to the cacophony. Castiel winced slightly.

"Gabriel is missing, yet again." Before Castiel could open his mouth, Michael continued, cutting off any reply that he'd come up with. "I came to ask you if he has gone to the human world. He speaks to you far more often than I or the others."

"He spends copious amounts of time in the human world, I do not see why you need ask-"

A polished black hoof slammed into the cobbled stone once more, the sound of it cracking under the pressure causing Castiel to fall silent, eyebrows drawing together in confusion. Michael's face was a picture of calculated anger. "I forbade him from returning to that world in light of his recent... mishap, with the group of humans in the forest. Now you tell me he's ignored my order?"

Leaning back in a rigid posture against the solid bark of the old tree, Castiel frowned. Leave it to his other brother to cause him problems... why was it that he always made Castiel take the brunt of everyone's anger for his actions?

"I saw him leave this morning but I thought little of it, I had more pressing business to attend to."

"Your personal library is not a pressing matter, Castiel." Michael tossed back flippantly, irritation still coloring his tone.

He knew better than to argue that matter, and so Castiel pressed on quietly. "I was not aware the Empress had given the King of Summer Season authority over the King of Spring Season?" It was a mild bite at Michael, as all four of Castiel's older brothers were rulers of each season respectively. Michael, being the King of the season of Summer, technically held no more power over Gabriel, who was the King of Spring, then Gabriel held over him.

Of course, the retort was not taken kindly, and Michael's brow furrowed dangerously. "I would watch your tone, little brother. You have not yet claimed your title, and so remain beneath me. You would do well to remember that. As for Gabriel, I will deal with him when he returns. Do not think your role in this will be overlooked."

Turning on his flank, Michael gave Castiel no time to reply as he made to leave the garden swiftly; no doubt in order to pursue actions against Gabriel for his believed 'insubordination'. Cerulean blue followed the swift leave, and with the disappearance of his older brother, Castiel closed his eyes. In that moment he briefly wondered if eventually, Gabriel would be the death of him.

OoOoOoOoO

In the human world, golden eyes danced along the crowd, from the owner's perch atop the roof of a two-story building. Golden brown hair ruffled lazily in the warm breeze, and Gabriel inhaled the delicious smell of freshly-baked pies. The shop across the street, well-known for their amazing pastries and baked goods, was packed full this evening.

A bit of a disappointment for Gabriel, who could take on the illusory appearance of a normal human, but would still have to worry about his tail being trampled all over in the mass. In the Fae Realm, Gabriel was equal parts beast and human; his body that of an anthropomorphic lion. He quite liked how regal he looked at times, and often preened over his luxurious mane. Ears, a long thick rope of a tail with it's own plush and thick tuft of hair, whiskers, and the lower half of his body like a lion's, Gabriel knew he would scare any human into a looney bin if he wasn't careful.

Keeping up a simple guise was easy enough for a slice of pie or half a cake, he was practically a regular here now.

"If people would hurry the hell up." He groused quietly, leaning lazily over the short stone wall and dangling his arms over the side. As much as he loved human sweets and baked goods, he missed his royal attire. Call him spoiled, but when your body looks good covered in thick reflective chains of silver and gold doused with peridot and aquamarine? You would want to flaunt it too.

He shifted a bit atop the roof, hind quarters swaying lightly. Behind the illusion, his lengthy tail swished back and forth like an impatient cat. When enough of the numbers had thinned out, he leaped down over the side into one of the alleys to avoid startling anyone, and swiftly made his way up to the shop.

They weren't open very late, and the hour was already encroaching on their normal closing time. He'd taken too long to come into the human world, but if he wanted to avoid Michael's wrath, he hadn't really had much choice. Luckily enough it wasn't even Michael's season currently, or he wouldn't have any chance at all.

As he stepped inside the store and to the right quickly so a group of people could exit with their orders, Gabriel's eyes snagged on the exceptionally tall human balancing two pies and trying to grab a container with a slice of carrot cake. He wrinkled his nose at the guy. Who went to a bakery for anything even remotely healthy-sounding? But taking pity on the giant moose of a man as someone bumped into him and nearly sent one of the pies flying, Gabriel pressed a hand into his back to steady him.

"Ah, thank you." The man murmured, turning to regard his helper with a gentle smile. He'd had to look down though... something that sent a brief flash of both amusement and annoyance through the King of Spring.

"You're welcome, Sasquatch. You should be more careful though, you're liable to crush someone if you topple over."

The man's expression shifted quickly into one of irritation, something Gabriel had the immediate thought of dubbing 'bitchface', before he was addressed.

"Says the man who'd probably make good money as the store's Keebler elf."

Gabriel snorted laughter. "Oh, you got jokes. Not bad, kid."

The man rolled his eyes, but Gabriel could see the annoyance had already dissipated. "I'm not a kid. But thank you, you know, for steadying me."

"Gabriel." He pointed at himself, smirking lazily.

"Sam."

Gabriel nodded with a grin, rocking back on his heel a bit. He realized after a moment that he'd forgotten all about the pie he'd wanted, in light of chatting up the tall human. But he needn't have wasted any time bidding the man farewell; Sam's hazel eyes had darted to something behind Gabriel, before returning to him with an apologetic look.

"I have to get going, my brother's out in the car. But thank you again Gabriel."

Chuckling as he stepped aside to let Sam pass, Gabriel's eyes had already homed in on the cherry pie in the far corner. "No problem, Kiddo. Just remember to bring grounding equipment with you next time you decide to brave a mob of people."

Sam huffed indignantly for a moment as he passed by, tossing Gabriel another one of those _looks_ before he exited the shop, purchases in hand. Gabriel's grin widened as he pulled out his wallet and pointed at his purchase for the cashier. How Michael could think Gabriel would ever get bored of this world, he would never know.

Once the pie was paid for and Gabriel slithered his way around the remaining people in the shop to exit the store, he sighed happily. By his account, he had... a few hours? Before Michael grew irate enough to actually come and track him down. He'd been gone all day, but would bet that it took half the day for his oldest brother to even realize he'd been gone.

And bless his little brother Castiel, who probably had to deal with that.

The sky overhead was a deep purple-blue, the sun already having sunk below the treeline. For humans, this time of the evening was when people started hurrying home if they were out running errands. He didn't have anything to worry about himself though; what humans feared in the looming darkness, was nothing that ever dared to bother him.

In fact, the only time Gabriel had ever run into one of the supernatural creatures that actually had the stones to try and pick a fight with him, was when he'd literally bumped right into a werewolf while collecting honey from some beehives for Castiel, who had wanted to know if the honey from the human world was somehow different than that of the Fae.

The werewolf had been frazzled by something and rammed right into him, then proceeded to try and rip him apart in its rabid frenzy. All Gabriel had had to do was slam a foot into its torso; the spine snapped in half as several of the ribs caved inward like paper.

He'd be lying if he said he didn't pride himself on his physical capability.

He never did see where the body landed when it finally came back down.

Gabriel's feet lead him down the sidewalk, ignoring any lingering people as they made their way past him. He couldn't take the pie home, or risk getting into an actual fight with Michael, so he made his way to the park he'd seen on his way here earlier.

With the street lights flickering to life, Gabriel spotted a park bench in the distance and made his way over to it lazily. He'd already been digging the plastic fork he'd snagged into the crust of the pie while walking; patience wasn't really a necessity at the moment. Though his pie musings were interrupted by a strange discomfort building in his gut. Frowning a bit, he set the fork in the plastic container and looked around.

Nothing.

Frowning deepening slightly, he shrugged and made his way to the bench before plopping himself down upon it in a completely graceless manner. The fork was snatched up again, filled with delicious cherry pie filling, and promptly consumed... before another tingle of unease crept over him.

He groaned loudly. The plastic container was closed and set down on the bench as he took a _better_ look around; the human facade melting away to reveal him in full glory. Golden cat-like eyes scanned the smattering of trees and sloping fields of grass, though nothing appeared immediately. It had to be a supernatural creature with an affinity for stealth, but that wasn't what bothered him. The thing, whatever it was, was holding an air of aggression that challenged _everything in its vicinity_.

Which meant the thing was either incredibly stupid, or incredibly powerful.

He was about to set himself into ignoring the blatant challenge, but before he could so much as grab the pie container and make his way out of the area, several things happened at once.

The 'thing' was a shapeshifter, and there were eleven of them; they had taken the guise of wolves and were chasing two humans out of a thicket of trees across the way. What snagged on Gabriel out of all of this, was that he recognized the taller human. It was the sasquatch from earlier, Sam. It registered remotely that the shorter one firing off rounds from his handgun had to be Sam's brother.

"So he's a hunter." Gabriel snorted in amusement.

Three of the shifter-wolves broke away from the group, trying to get around the two humans as they ran across the field. No one had registered Gabriel's presence yet though, which he was glad for, as a rather loud curse escaped him next. Peering past what Gabriel liked to call their 'wrappers', he could see several people from the bakery shop earlier.

How hadn't he noticed them til now?

"Dean!" Sam's yell cut off his momentary musings as one of the wolves snagged the shorter human's pant leg, ceasing his run. The human let off a few rounds from his handgun into the creature's head, causing it to yelp before toppling over dead, but now the both of them were surrounded and unable to run.

Neither looked as panicked as Gabriel thought they should be, but right now he was more annoyed at his failure to detect the things earlier. He would never claim to be a saviour to the human race, but letting something clearly dangerous just roam around right in front of his face without doing something about it? Not really his style.

Ignoring the calculated actions of the humans as they tried to take out the group, Gabriel simply strolled over to the mess and lashed out at the nearest wolf. All eyes turned when a flash of pale green light flickered around him; his aether charged for assault as he snapped his fingers and several spikes of tree roots shot up from the ground.

In the time it took for anyone to blink, the shifter was impaled several times and it fur was already beginning to sprout pale blue flowers.

"What- what the _fuck,_" The one named Dean sputtered, stumbling back a little bit away from Gabriel, who noticed the human's leg was bleeding from where he was bitten.

"Heya, Sammy. Fancy meeting you here." Gabriel replied in a chipper tone, snapping once more and sending the next wolf spinning off in viscous momentum; new tendrils of wood had appeared, lashing out like a baseball bat and colliding with a resounding 'thud'. Panic was quickly stealing over the other shifters as they took in just who they were dealing with.

Sam had stood gaping at Gabriel in his true form. "Wh- _Gabriel?_"

"That's what they call me."

"_What the fuck is that guy?_" Dean's shout of confusion had melted into outrage, but no one had the chance to respond as the shifters fell into a full blown panicked frenzy. As one of them took off for the safety of the trees, the rest leaped at Sam, who had backed himself closer to Dean and brandished a silver knife.

Gabriel took out one of the remaining ones with a pitfall in the soil that housed a giant venus fly trap. Another two he simply slammed his foot into; one having come close enough to take his clawed back paw to the jaw and the other shifter being right behind him. Both went careening into a distant tree, shattering the trunk with the force of the impact and raising a wall of roots as the rest upended from the earth.

He didn't have time to admire his handiwork though, as Sam's panicked yell for his brother turned him quickly and had him bolting for the massive pile of fur that had launched themselves at the humans. Somewhere in the back of his mind he was impressed with the capability of these two; he'd never seen a hunter hold their own against more than a couple shifters, let alone a small army.

He could smell the thick, metallic tang of blood in the air, and it was growing stronger by the second. Lurching forward to rip two of them off of the humans and slam them together hard enough to hear their bones cracking, Gabriel found that the brothers had quickly dispatched of the remainder.

While Dean maintained only the one injury to the leg from the bite earlier, Sam bore a gash running from his left shoulder to his right hip.

"Shit, shit..."

He didn't have the ability to deal with this.

Dean struggled to sit upright, groping for Sam as he tried to assess his brother's damage. Dean would be fine, but Sam wasn't going to make it if something wasn't done fast. Without thinking it through, Gabriel smacked Dean's hand away from his brother, and wrapped his arm around the unconscious form.

Dean's shout of protest went ignored as both Gabriel and Sam disappeared from the area, a swirling mist of dispersing aether being the only evidence of their presence.

"SAM!"

OoOoOoOoOoO

Castiel replaced the book in the castle's library, absently side-stepping the lengthy train his tail feathers made behind him. The deep inky blackness of the well-groomed plumage was only offset by the brilliant sheen of sapphire that rippled through them when hit by the appropriate amount of light. He had long grown used to the wary looks of others from the Fae Realm, as black phoenixes were rare and regarded as omens of death and destruction.

He even had to keep his massive wings bound to his back with the golden jewelry he wore; a fashionable harness of sorts that was decorated with diamonds. It prevented the realm dwellers from panicking at the opening of his wings. He could understand the fear of seeing fire the color of the pitch black sky, on a pair of very imposing wings and matching lengthy tail feathers.

Though there were the few who had no such issue at all.

"Day dreaming again, feathers?"

Blinking slowly, he turned to regard the small red-headed woman who had snuck up on him in his musings. He tried to bow in respect; the woman was the lover of the Empress Gilda, the High Ruler of the Fae Realm, but the woman scoffed and waved him off.

"How many times do I have to tell you, you don't have to do that? It's actually kinda creepy."

"I apologize, Lady Charlie-"

"Ah ah, don't do that either. That just makes me feel old." The woman grimaced as she brushed a lock of red hair from her face. "Did you finish that book already? Wow. I thought it would take longer, what with Michael being a huge douche and all, lately."

Castiel's brows furrowed, head tilting lightly in confusion. "... I do not understand that word."

Charlie only waved him off lightly, anticipating the reaction. She knew that despite how often they spent time just talking about various things, that her friend was having a hard time picking up human nuances. "It's alright, I just meant that he's being really rude and should stay out of everyone's business. But uhm... actually, I kind of came to ask you a favor."

She bounced lightly on the balls of her heels, the strings of her leggings making gentle tapping noises on the pristine marble floor. With slender arms crossed behind her back and lengthy red curls dancing over the simple white silk shirt, Castiel wondered briefly if she had been an elf in a previous life.

That would be quite ironic, he mused. Charlie had yet to grow tired of making comparative references to a city called 'Rivendell' whenever she discovered a new part of the castle. Castiel had eventually learned it was from a popular human book series, and a reference to a city of elves. He was amused to find that the comparison was actually quite accurate in describing this castle, which made him wonder if the book-writer she admired so much had actually seen the Fae Realm.

When Charlie waved her hand in front of his face with a quiet 'hellooo?', Castiel snapped back from his thoughts, blinking. "What would you need?" Charlie was a good friend, and so it bothered him little to be asked for things from time to time. Unlike his brothers, she was very good company and told interesting stories of fiction.

"Well, it's about my Anniversary... would it be possible to-"

A loud crash, and a bellow of rage that sounded uncomfortably familiar, drowned out whatever Charlie had attempted to say next. Feeling his nerves run cold, Castiel bolted in the direction of the noise with a hastily-murmured 'Excuse me'.

The main hall was only a short distance away with Castiel's speed; it took him no time at all to reach the massive room. He was quickly greeted by the sight of Michael, his brother's face contorted with so much fury that Castiel had to resist the reflexive impulse to release his wings for self-defense. Gabriel stood a few feet in front of his brother, cradling something that was dripping blood all over the pale silver carpet.

It was unusual for Gabriel to be so firm in the face of their eldest brother, especially when Michael was in a mood like this. Though whatever he held, he refused to let go of it. "What has happened? Gabriel? Michael?"

"Cassy, fuck, there you are. Come here, I need you to heal something-"

"Castiel will _not_ be healing anything!" Michael roared, fury reaching a deadly calm that didn't bode well for anyone within his line of sight. Hooves slammed angrily into the hard floor below. "You were _told_ never to return to the human world, and yet you deliberately disobeyed! Now, you _bring back a human_-"

"He's DYING, Michael! His injury is my responsibility, I wasn't just going to leave him there!" Gabriel shouted back, his yell echoing in the hall and drowning out the residual echo from Michael. "And you have _no right_ to tell me where I can and can't go!"

By the time Charlie made her way into the main hall, she was panting heavily and eyeing everything with growing bewilderment. "Whoa... just what happened here...?"

"Cas, come here, I need your help."

Holding out a hand to silently plead with Charlie to remain where she was, Castiel made his way over to Gabriel swiftly. Michael however, drew his sword from it's sheath at his hip. Gabriel's golden eyes flickered with pulsing aether, muscles tensing as he watched his older brother with growing trepidation.

"It is this human's fate to die. It is our duty to protect the Fae Realm from corruption, Gabriel. Or have you forgotten your duty as one of the four Kings?" Michael hissed, approaching the two and the limp human as he raised the blade.

Castiel paused beside Gabriel, pursing his lips tightly. He could not help Gabriel defend the human if Michael chose to strike; both of his brothers may be King, but Michael was by far the strongest of everyone here. It was obvious however, that their brother would not listen to reason.

"It's our duty to uphold peace and protect the innocent." Gabriel shot back with a sneer, fangs bared. "I don't know about you, but to me that doesn't stop at a damn dimensional border. Get off your high horse, Michael, and start acting like you give a damn about anything but your pride."

Any other time, Charlie would have snickered at the statement, but as it stood, the situation needed diffusing- quickly.

"Hold up, wait a second." She waved an arm at them hesitantly, fear creeping through her despite knowing that no one here would intentionally harm her. She had yet to get used to the feel of the building energies that the brothers could give off.

Michael's answering glare in her direction didn't deter her from speaking. She paused and tossed a subtle glance at the human in her peripheral. Castiel took the hint and quickly began to heal him, attempting to shield his actions from his brother.

"This is obviously a situation that's causing strife amongst the Kings, which means you guys should seriously be consulting the Empress." She crossed her arms, pulling herself up to her full height. Having made the suggestion, she was going to stand behind it. No one deserved to die just because another deemed it necessary. From the sound of it, this wasn't even the human's fault.

"We needn't burden Her Majesty with such trivial matters." Michael's grip on his blade still held firm, but now rested at his side. "As well, calling for a council meeting would inconvenience the others."

"This is already a problem for everyone to address, you and Gabriel won't change either of your stances. Neither of you have more say than the other, so obviously it's necessary to bring everyone else in." She raised an eyebrow a bit, trying to seem more sure than she was. She was aware that Michael knew her point was entirely valid; he and Gabriel held equal standing. What she was unsure of however, was if Michael wouldn't just take the situation into his own hands.

It wasn't that Michael was a heartless person, she tried to remember, but he was very passionate about the protection of the Fae Realm and all of its inhabitants. Sometimes that passion could get out of hand. Michael's silence told of how he was thinking the situation over, while Castiel pulled back slowly. The human was out of the danger zone, but would still carry some of the injury until Castiel could actually focus his full attention on him.

Gabriel breathed a quiet sigh of relief.

Shaking his head slowly, Michael's rage seemed to lessen fractionally. "Then we have little choice but to ask the Empress for council. But Gabriel," and here he turned to his brother, cold blue eyes locking with heated gold. "You can be the one to summon Lucifer and Raphael."

Gabriel had to hold back the groan that threatened to escape him. He'd gotten off easy, he knew...but not by much. "Yeah, sure. No problem, bro." He muttered as he adjusted his grip on Sam's unconscious form.

Castiel watched with furrowed brows, his gaze darting between his brothers, to Charlie, and then to the human Gabriel was clutching. He tried to drown out the rest of the conversation from there, but before he could, he felt a weight press into his chest. Gabriel was handing him the human...a human that he now realized was quite a bit larger then Castiel himself.

"Can you take care of him while I go deal with this?"

He found himself nodding mutely before it fully registered what he was being asked to do, and he watched in silence as both of his brothers quickly left in different directions to prepare for the meeting. It had been a long time since the last council had been called, and that had been over Charlie's appearance within the Realm. Though Charlie's meeting had, by far, a fonder memory attached. He adjusted the human in his hold, turning to said red-head as she approached.

"It could've gone worse, I think." She murmured sheepishly.

"I am glad you were here to resolve the issue with quick thinking, thank you La-" He paused when she gave him an exasperated look, and adjusted his words. "Charlie."

"Oh don't worry about it Cas. I just- well no offense to Michael, but what he wanted wasn't fair at all. So let's get this big guy to a bed or something."


	2. Athair Ar Neamh

It had taken hours for Gabriel to convince Lucifer to heed the call for council. Raphael had come with a simple ten-minute explanation and a disapproving frown to rival Michael's, but Lucifer, he had to argue with for what felt like ages until the old dragon had finally agreed. Now don't get Gabriel wrong, he loved his brothers unendingly, but that didn't mean he couldn't think Lucifer was an asshole.

Since Lucifer was the second-oldest of the five of them, he held himself as high as Michael and sometimes more-so, which resulted in the two eldest (and sometimes everyone in general when it came to Luci) getting along as well as a cats and dogs. But Gabriel pushed all of that out of mind for now, making his way away from the freezing terrain of the winterland's borders. Lucifer ruled over the Season of Winter, which meant that Gabriel almost always couldn't feel his extremities after even the briefest of visits.

He didn't understand how the cold never bothered Michael. Then again, other than human issues, nothing ever bothered Michael.

Huffing quietly to himself, Gabriel adjusted the silver-lined golden hip-skirt as he reached one of the main castle entryways. He hated running, his clothing always shifted and yanked on his tail. Castiel couldn't force him to wear a shirt to save his life, that was for damn sure.

"Honey, I'm home."

His murmur caught the attention of Raphael, who he had spoken to first and so had gotten here with ample time to spare. Raphael was the middle child; the third oldest of the line, and the King of Autumn. He would admit this to no one but Charlie and Cas, but Gabriel found Raph to be the creepiest of his brothers.

It helped little that the man was a Naga; a dark-skinned human for an upper torso, and below the hip-line was the body of a grand onyx-colored snake with golden markings. Snakes just bothered Gabriel in general, and Raphael seemed to always have a special kind of scowl just for the times Gabriel opened his mouth.

He could admit one thing though; Raphael rocked silver and white-gold jewelry. The pierced loops and strings of thin web-like expensive wiring certainly offset the dark of the scales, especially with the embedded citrine and garnet gemstones. Gabriel may or may not have been a bit jealous of it.

His musings were broken by a scoff and a raised brow from his brother.

"I take it Lucifer will not come?"

"No, no. It took a while, but he said he'd show up." Gabriel shrugged, some of his thick mane falling over his shoulder from where it wrapped around his neck like a collar. "Though I think it's mostly because he wants to see the human that pissed Michael off."

Raphael's displeased look deepened. "As well Michael should be angry. Even though we have no control over you Gabriel, you know very well that this sort of thing is dangerous; for both the human world and ours."

Gabriel sighed. "Yeah, well."

He made no attempt to finish that sentence, trailing off and looking away, but Raphael did not pursue it. They stood there in silence for a length of time until the door Gabriel had passed through opened again. A gust of crisp, frigid air rolled through the room as Lucifer stepped inside. Both Gabriel and Raphael resisted the urge to shiver, but the naga's scales rippled slightly.

"Tell me we aren't waiting on Michael." The man murmured, the sound low and bordering on both amusement and annoyance, though for Lucifer, that was a standard tone of voice.

"No, you are not."

The three turned, finding that the person in question had just rounded a corner, stepping out from a corridor with crossed arms. The soft sounds of hooves clopping against the marble floor echoed in the vast room. With all four of them there now, Gabriel could feel tension beginning to form.

There was a reason that the four Kings rarely met in a group like this.

Somewhere in another wing of the castle, Castiel shivered.

Charlie blinked from her perch on the end of a large bed, book in hand and legs crossed in front of her. The human lay in the center of the bed, propped up with pillows and fully healed, but asleep.

"Something wrong?"

Castiel shook his head, brows furrowing slightly. "I believe Lucifer has arrived. The temperature in the castle has dropped eleven degrees."

Charlie couldn't help her noticeable cringe at the mention of the King, nose wrinkling lightly. "Your brother scares me on a level I normally reserve for Cthulu..." When he only deepened his frown, she rolled her eyes. "He scares the ever-living crap out of me, okay?"

His lips twitched momentary. "You are not the only one."

Nodding with a light shrug, Charlie ear-marked her page in the book before using it to point at the human. "I know you said he should be fine now, but what's going to happen to him? Can Michael really request his execution?"

"I do not believe the Empress would allow such a drastic measure. The human has done us no harm, and is not the cause of this incident."

Charlie's wistful look made Castiel smile softly.

"Yeah, you're right. I mean, isn't she amazing? Ruler of everything but just... so kind and compassionate. She really cares about everyone, even people outside of this place." When she caught her friend staring at her, she cleared her throat, blushing lightly. "Well uhm, yeah."

Shaking his head, Castiel adjusted his perch on the large bedpost. He only needed one foot to balance on the carved wooden beam, the other hanging still. "The Empress is a fair ruler, you are right. You needn't be embarrassed about your admiration and affection."

Charlie only smiled brightly in response. "By the way, does he have a name?"

Watching her point at the human again, Castiel cocked his head. "... I do not know. Gabriel did not provide me with one when he gave him to me. I am not even sure Gabriel himself knows; it is unlike my brother to place much interest in anything but himself and his needs."

He received a thoughtful hum in response, but the conversation went no further as the human shifted in the bed and groaned softly. Glazed hazel eyes cracked open slowly. Setting the book on a nearby table, Charlie shifted so that she could face the man better, reaching out hastily to swat Castiel's hand away when he reached for him.

"Hey, don't _scare him_. Give him a second."

But Sam didn't take long to wake after opening his eyes; hunter senses still strong despite feeling disoriented from unnaturally-fast healing. He pushed himself to sit up quickly before catching on to the woman sitting across from him, eyeing him curiously.

"Hi there." She chirped, acting entirely nonchalant about the situation.

His first reaction to everything was to grab his chest for the wound... which had completely disappeared. Not even a scar had been left behind. "... What... Uhm... What happened...?" He was trying very hard to remain calm, assessing first himself, and then the large space that appeared to be a bedroom with growing trepidation.

He had noticed right away that he was stripped bare of any of his weapons; the comfortable weight of the knife, two handguns, and several hidden trinkets he kept in his hair and shoes was missing. His shoes in general were missing too he noted, though he retained his normal clothing plus one large rip where the shifters had gotten him.

Charlie held up her hands in a gesture of peace when he finally regarded her fully, seeming to either not notice, or ignore, Castiel's presence for the moment. "You were badly hurt when you were brought here. Uhm, do you know a guy named 'Gabriel'?" She asked, unsure on how much the man was aware of. "By the way, you can call me Charlie. And just for the record, I'm human." She gave him a sheepish grin.

Sam's eyebrows shot up a bit as he took in everything she said. He did remember Gabriel, and that Gabriel had not been human like he first thought. He also remembered how Gabriel had leaped into the fight and tried to fend off the shifters, all of which he relayed back to the two in the room with mild hesitancy, hoping to get some answers from it.

Charlie seemed thoroughly shocked by the story. Castiel was the first one to reply, startling Sam and causing him to turn quickly to regard him.

"That does not sound like Gabriel. Though I will not refute his strong sense of justice, he is not normally one to place himself in a position where a significant amount of effort is required of him, and follow through said effort."

Somehow, that actually didn't surprise Sam, despite the scenario he'd been helped to barely escape from. "Alright... but that doesn't explain where I am right now. I know he used some strange power and we left the field-" He paused, jerking in place as his eyes widened. They had left Dean there, _alone_.

Castiel frowned at the shift, but before he could ask about it, Sam's panicked gaze locked onto him. "I need to go back! My brother, we just left him there and he was injured. Please, are you able to take me back?"

Castiel's gaze hardened over momentarily. He understood Sam's worry, but as it was, he had little control over things right now. He couldn't help the human even if he wanted to. "No. As it stands, Gabriel faces punishment for bringing a human to our Realm, as it is forbidden. You are not in your world anymore and the decision to return you, or imprison you, is currently a topic of discussion for our Leaders."

Sam's expression shifted into one of incredulity. "So, what, he saves me but then I'm held captive for the rest of my life?"

Charlie winced, reaching up to adjust her glasses with a soft sigh. "Well, I know Gabriel's trying to fight for your freedom. And if it makes you feel better? Me and Cas don't want you stuck here either. I mean, Castiel was the one who healed you when you were dying."

Said man's brows furrowed as he frowned at Charlie. He didn't want to be involved in this anymore than necessary, and so when Sam turned to him with a completely new expression, he sighed. "I did what was asked of me."

He was surprised when even though the human was angry about being told he couldn't leave yet, he still offered Castiel a hesitant smile. "Oh… thank you, uhm, Cas?"

Charlie's soft snort of laughter had Castiel frowning at her once more, but before he could correct the human, she waved him off with a grin. "Cas is fine. He might say he doesn't like it, but really he's a big softy."

Castiel's feathers ruffled indignantly, forcing him to roll his shoulders slowly to adjust the harness. The human's lips twitched softly, having caught the movement and watched it with child-like curiosity. Another thing that surprised Castiel- the man seemed to have no trepidation or worry at all for what he was. He knew that humans, hunters more-so than others, had stories and legends about the creatures of the Fae Realm.

Phoenixes were quite popular, or so he had been told by Charlie. The Black Phoenix was regarded in the same manner in the human world as in the Fae, despite most humans belief that they were nothing but myths. However, this human was a hunter; he had the weapons, scars, and warding tattoos to prove it. Castiel would have expected the man to be tripping over himself to either kill or get away from Castiel as quickly as possible.

"Does he do that often?" He caught the human asking Charlie, who's lips twitched into a quirky half-smile she would try and fail to hide.

"Yep. By the way, what's your name? I really, _really_ would love not to have to keep calling you 'the human', or 'that guy'. It's so… oppressive."

"Sam," He took a moment to re-assess himself, before laying back onto the pillows once more. It was hard, knowing that he had absolutely no way to get back to Dean right now. Raising a fuss over it wouldn't help either, especially when apparently there were creatures deliberating on whether or not he should be free to go at all.

All three fell into silence, lost in their own thoughts on the situation. It was a relief that the silence wasn't uncomfortable though; Charlie and Cas seemed to be reasonable and even likable so far to Sam, and Charlie would admit to being a bit excited that there was another person to share human culture with. Castiel was simply glad that Sam was nothing like his brothers, nor anything like the tales Michael sometimes told of the humans he'd come across who would stumble through a portal.

Not everyone who came through was peaceful.

"We need to find a place he can stay though. Preferably away from Michael and Lucifer… and maybe Raphael. He's not very nice either." Charlie leaned back on the bed, hands on either side behind her and propping her up.

Castiel tilted his head a bit, genuinely confused. "Is this room not suitable?"

Sam's gaze darted between the two, listening with a raised brow. when Charlie shook her head fervently, he crossed his own arms.

"No way! First of all, this room is out in the middle of bu-fu nowhere," She held up a hand, pre-empting Castiel's standard clipped response of 'I don't understand that reference'. "In the middle of nowhere, Cas. The castle is huge, and on top of that, Michael and Raphael are here almost all the time. I don't really think that's safe?"

The questioning intonation had Sam wondering just who the two people were, that they seemed to cause such a problem. but he was sure that eventually he'd get some kind of explanation if he just waited.

"Then where do you propose he stay? There are very few suitable places for a human to live in the Fae, outside of the castle, and those are the four Kings' residences and my-" He cut himself off as soon as Charlie turned her eyes to him, expression positively _alight_. He knew immediately what she was about to suggest, and shook his head.

"But Cas-"

"My private residence is no place for a human." He countered quickly.

"I visit you all the time."

"That is because-..."

Charlie's expression there was expectant, eyebrow raised. Castiel realized then, that there was nothing he could truly say that wouldn't come out in a poor manner, to which he sighed. Cerulean eyes darted to Sam. "Since it is you that must remain in the realm I would ask you, would you prefer to remain in the castle? If not, I have a smaller residence some distance from here that maintains much more privacy."

"He has a spare bedroom." Charlie supplied helpfully, kicking her feet lazily as they hung over the edge of the side of the bed.

Castiel looked as if the urge to groan or sigh was a very real consideration at the moment.

"Well I don't mind staying here, if it'd bother you too much for me to stay with you," Sam shrugged lightly. In truth, he didn't think it mattered where he stayed, as long as the situation was resolved quickly and with little trouble so he could get back to his brother. Though he was a bit wary about residing in a place full of people who more than likely wanted him locked up.

"It would not inconvenience me." He shifted a bit on his perch atop the bedpost, switching feet. The internal conflict was apparent, but no one decided to question it. "I am simply unused to guests for extended periods."

Charlie watched him expectantly, a look that Sam missed as he maintained his attention on the other man. Castiel nodded minutely. "You may stay with me. It is likely a wiser choice than remaining in Michael's sights, as Charlie said."

"Thank you." Sam's courteous show of gratitude was met with a brief, faint smile. To be honest with himself, Castiel didn't expect for Sam to be a handful; as of so far the man was pleasant enough.

"We should move you soon, then. I do not know if the others would want you to appear before the council, but the chance rises the longer you remain here."

"Good idea." Charlie slid off of the bed, forgetting the book on the table and sticking her feet back into the leather slippers she had taken off earlier. "Oh," She turned to regard Sam sheepishly, making the hunter's eyebrow raise curiously.

"All of your stuff was taken while you were out. I don't think you're going to get it back until they decide what to do about you… I'm sorry Sam, I really am."

But Sam only shook his head as he followed Castiel's silent lead; descending from the plush bed to stand on the soft carpeting. It took a bit of getting used to before he could let go of the mattress and stand on his own though, an assumed side-effect of being unused to magical healing.

"It's alright. It's not like I need any of it while I'm here." Though that was a partial lie, he realized, feeling the familiar weight of the amulet missing from his neck. He tried not to think about it.

"I believe there are things you must be made aware of now that you're here, but we should retreat to my residence first." Castiel's deep voice broke through Sam's thoughts.

"Uh- alright, yeah. Let's go."

The walk from the room was slow- Sam had to steady himself with the wall every few minutes until the residual weakness faded. Luckily enough, it was only a few short corridors before they would reach one of the several main doorways that allowed them to exit the castle, and halfway through their walk Sam was able to regain himself fully.

Unfortunately, their luck did not extend further than that.

"Well, well, is this the human then?" A slow, amused drawl greeted the three of them as they entered the main hall; the very same main hall that Castiel had whisked Sam from in order to heal him.

All eyes turned to the dark figure of a male making his way over to them, his predatory gaze alight with curiosity and the ever-present threat of underlying violence. Castiel froze in place, his whole body tensing as he stood just in front of Sam. The approaching figure stopped a short distance from them, lips twitching with concealed amusement as Castiel's wing unconsciously shifted a few more inches in front of the human.

"Hello, Lucifer."

"Castiel." The figure responded amicably, a faint smile finally breaking free.

The calm and kind demeanor did nothing to ease the tension in Castiel, nor Charlie; who had gripped Sam's upper arm tight enough that her knuckles had turned white from the strain. Sam frowned, watching the figure with growing trepidation. So this was Lucifer… he thought he could understand a little now, why Charlie had practically begged Cas to take him out of the castle.

Lucifer was shorter than Sam by a decent several inches, however this did nothing to lessen the sheer _force of presence_ the man exuded, even standing as casually as he was. Not even accustomed to this realm, and Sam could understand that the man was a half-dragon hybrid; reminding him of Gabriel's build, but with draconic parts instead of a lion's.

His thick, lengthy tail hovered just above the marble floor, but gave off enough of a chill that everything within a couple feet of it frosted over. The lower half of his body, his tail, the horns atop his head that curved out and backwards in an 's' shape, the claws on his scaled fingers… all of them seemed to suck the warmth from their very surroundings.

Even the opulent strings and plates of silver that adorned his hips, chest, and thighs did nothing to ease the air of eminent danger he practically oozed. Though the onyx gems that peppered them felt eerie enough to the hunter. Black and midnight-blue scales littered his features, and speckled along his joints and the side of his face.

If he had been less imposing, Sam would have marveled at Lucifer's scales; how they were decorated with intricate pulsing patterns of a glowing blue substance. Even his wings were a fantastic sight, with the webbing between the joints as transparent as frosted glass.

The man's breath came out as puffs of steam.

"_Jesus…_" He breathed, shivering before he could catch the slip.

Lucifer's attentions immediately slid from Castiel to Sam; slitted icy gaze narrowing in rapt interest. "No… Lucifer." He teased slowly, the smile ever-widening. "But you may call me your God, if you wish."

Charlie's grip tightened even more. Sam could feel her trying to hold back a tremble, keeping up a brave air and glaring at the man steadfastly. He couldn't help but feel grateful that she would stand up beside him like this, when she was clearly uncomfortable.

"I'm Sam, Winchester." He replied evenly, drawing himself up to full height to remove any assumption that Lucifer's presence intimidated him. If anything though, this seemed to interest the dragon more; a sharp canine slowly peeking over slightly chapped lips.

"Interesting."

"Lucifer, is the meeting finished?" Castiel's voice cut through, interrupting anything else the two could have said. He knew it was unwise to provoke Lucifer's annoyance, but he found that he liked his brother's attentions on Sam even less.

Bright blue eyes lingered on the human for a moment, before darting back to Castiel. "... No. Gabriel is being petulant, and Michael is quite furious as it stands. The Empress, however, is interested in meeting the human that's causing such an uproar in the kingdom."

If he had known Lucifer to have less reservations for things, Castiel believed his brother would be laughing right now at the chaos. The crease under his eyes and the twitch of his lips gave away just how amused by the entire situation he was, however, which boded both well and poorly for them all, depending on how the King of Winter decided to proceed with the situation at hand.

But Lucifer was nothing if not cunning; Charlie's presence coupled with Castiel's ensured that he would not be taking his time to study this human any further, to avoid garnering unnecessary mistrust.

"The meeting will reconvene tomorrow morning. Your presence is requested, Lady Charlie. Perhaps the human's will be as well. We'll see." Giving a slight bow- to which Sam half-believed he was simply mocking them- Lucifer side-stepped the small group and passed through the hall that they had come from. In his wake, the soft sound of rapidly-forming and breaking ice could be heard.

"... I vote we rename Lucifer's title to 'King of Mordor'." Charlie murmured quietly, slowly loosening her grip on Sam's arm.

Sam snorted quietly, while Castiel merely shook his head. "I still do not understand your references."


	3. Pax Deorum

The residence that Charlie had talked about was not what Sam had expected. For starters, he wasn't sure if he could call it a true house; in the midst of a somewhat large hill in the center of a sparse forest, was the biggest tree the hunter had ever seen. It resembled a weeping willow, with hundreds of thick, droopy branches covered in swaying ropes of leaves.

But as the wind blew, Sam could see that through the wall of plant life there were small rooms dotting the massive truck. From the very base that the three of them approached on horse, there was a staircase; old and not nearly as neat or polished as any home Sam had ever seen. But he would give credit to the fact that it looked very sturdy, especially supported by intricate wooden rails.

The stairwell lead up and around the trunk, stopping at the first section of house that was supported by thick branches and some beams that leaned against the trunk itself. If he had to guess, it housed at least a few rooms, before a stairwell behind it went up further still and stopped at another section of 'house'. This section was smaller; maybe housing two rooms, but perched upon a thick branch in such a way that its view passed through a bald patch in the wall of leaves.

There was a third section as well, enough for a single room, which Sam could only assume would be Castiel's bedroom. All in all -and working entirely off of estimation from where he sat atop his horse-, each section rose two stories high in measurement along the tree, and looked like something out of an elven fairy tale, decorated in light hues of blue.

It was surprising, but something he would expect from a would-be King.

On their ride to his domain, Sam had been filled in by both Charlie and Cas on the status of the world; the four Kings and what they ruled over, the Empress who ruled over all but only took authority when there was a squabble between the Kings-and how Castiel was to be the fifth King, but as of yet was too young to take the title.

There seemed to be more to that particular part of the story, but before Charlie could fill him in, Castiel had silenced her with a look.

"You will be residing here with me until a decision has been made. You are welcome to make yourself comfortable, though I would request that you please refrain from rearranging my library; the arrangement I have currently is a matter of some importance to me." Castiel pointed to the top of the tree, causing Sam to blink a moment in surprise.

He had been ready to ask about it, when Charlie cleared her throat.

"Well guys, this is where I get off."

"You return to comfort the Empress, then?" Castiel's faint smile betrayed the fondness in his tone and the amusement at Charlie's shuffling. "Thank you for remaining long enough to see us here."

Sam nodded with his own smile, watching as they were both waved off with a wide grin.

"Don't worry about it, really! It's totally not like you're my best friend here, Cas. And Sam's pretty cool too. I just wanna make sure she's alright and not stressed out, cause you know, Michael and Lucifer in the same room…" She made a face, to which Castiel shook his head.

"If there is anything her majesty wishes of me-"

"Yeah, yeah." Charlie shifted a bit, pulling the reigns of the horse to turn it about. "Don't worry about it. I've totally got this covered." She winked, waving to Sam who's grin widened as he waved back.

"Take it easy, Charlie."

"You too, Sam! Later, bitches~" Tugging the reigns, she goaded the horse into a quick cant and made her way out of the wall of hanging leaves. "And don't cause any trouble!"

Castiel merely shook his head. "I am unsure sometimes, if she makes these references simply for the amusement of confusing me."

Sam tried to smother his grin, biting his lower lip as he began to dismount the horse. "Probably. I'll uh, try to avoid making too many if I can help it."

"That would be greatly appreciated, Sam Winchester."

"Just Sam, Cas."

Dismounting his own horse, Castiel lead Sam around the great tree to a small open shack where they could tie the horses. With plenty of food and water left for the animals to rest and regain energy, they came back around in silence and ascended the staircase.

Absently, Sam was glad that Dean wasn't here, if only for the fact that he knew his brother would likely have qualms about staying in a place that left many openings for falling right out of the tree. His mind wandered to his brother and the wound, but he'd had enough time to think by now, and he remembered that all of the shifters had been taken care of.

Dean would have been able to seek medical help for the wound, from what he saw of it. So his brother was safe, for now… as long as he didn't try to take on any hunts by himself.

"Sam?"

He paused, realizing he had been standing in the doorway for a couple of minutes now. Castiel had his arms crossed over the pale tan silk of the loose jacket he wore, the white silk shirt beneath bunched under the position. Hazel eyes snagged on a sliver of pale skin beneath the risen cloth before darting away quickly.

He chastised himself for the awkward moment. "Uh, yeah Cas. Sorry." Stepping in, he shut the thin wooden door behind him, taking in the interior. Well-lived. Books littered the low wooden tables, and the chairs and couches were covered in pale plush cloth. Other then that, the living room was sparsely-furnished, and circular in appearance.

"Do you require anything to eat, or drink?" He heard after a moment, eyes darting back to Castiel's face. "You have been here for some time now, it would be best if you regained energy as well."

"If it doesn't inconvenience you or anything-"

"Of course not. As I've said, you are welcome to make yourself comfortable. There is a pantry to the left," Castiel pointed to a small doorway that lead out into a hall. Sam squinted at it a bit. It didn't look like he would fit through it walking normally, but if he ducked a little it wouldn't be a problem.

"Cold foods are stored in a smaller enchanted room within the pantry, I only ask that you close the door afterwards, if you wish to use it."

Sam nodded, making his way over as he followed Castiel, who then pointed to a section from the doorway that could be seen from where they were. It sounded like a refrigerator in all honesty, so there was no problem there, though mentioning this to Castiel only earned a confused wrinkle of his brows and a soft frown.

The hunter couldn't help but find that amusing.

"There are many enchanted items within my home to make things more convenient. If anything should confuse you, please let me know."

"Thank you. For letting me stay with you, and all of this," Sam looked back out towards the living space, and to the large windows that made up a majority of the walls that weren't against the trunk of the tree. Outside, the vines of leaves swayed gently.

The faint smile had returned to Castiel's lips for a brief moment, before dispersing. "You are welcome."

There was something that snagged on Sam's mind suddenly, and before Castiel could turn away to ascend the stairs and leave Sam to his own devices, he had to know. "Hey, Cas?"

Castiel paused, halfway between approaching the ascending staircase shielded by glass walls and an intricate wooden roof, and turning back to look at Sam, eyebrow raised.

"Why did you heal me?"

It was a question that had come to mind more than once since he'd woken, but had slipped away in light of all the new information before Sam could really think to ask anyone. It wasn't that he believed Castiel would not have healed him; the man was kind even if he seemed very introverted.

But at the same time, he had to wonder why the man had decided to step between his brothers and out of his blatant neutrality, for the sake of one human. From what little he could glean of the situation, Castiel was not a person who looked forward to taking up the title of King, which meant not wanting to be one to set foot in political boundaries.

So then why now?

Castiel's expression seemed conflicted for a moment, but only briefly; there and gone again so quickly that Sam wasn't entirely sure it had even been there. He stared at the human with blank, schooled features.

"I told you of how you came to be here. Though my brother Gabriel is a trouble-maker of a highly dangerous scale, he is not malevolent. He truly did not mean to cause you or your brother harm, and I believe it would have hurt him deeply if you had passed due to his grievous error in judgement."

Sam nodded, leaning against the open door frame as Castiel continued with a shake of his head.

"I do not want him to suffer, nor do I believe you deserve to die. I did what was asked of me, and what I believe was the right thing to do. I am aware that I do not come off a social creature by nature," He paused at Sam's soft exhale, "But I will not be shallow or selfish to my own desire for privacy, and allow someone to suffer."

Feeling slightly chastised by his new friend's words, Sam rubbed the back of his neck. Castiel took the resulting silence with a shallow nod, before turning and making his way up the stairs. In the silence of the living space, Sam let his head fall back to tap against the door frame as he closed his eyes.

This arrangement may be a little harder than he first thought.

OoOoOoOoO

Later in the evening found Castiel descending the stairs quietly. He had spent some time in his library, calming himself from the expense of most of his energy due to the hectic day. It had been very quiet during his hours upstairs, but he hadn't expected that Sam would be a noisy guest anyway.

It would have been rude of him to simply retire to bed without checking on his guest, however, and so he came down to check on Sam and see if the human needed anything first. He was surprised for a moment, when he didn't see the man anywhere. Had he gone outside? The Fae wasn't a safe place at night…

Before Castiel could build himself up into a panic, a soft noise had his eyes swiveling over to the far couch. He approached slowly, peering over the edge, and saw the human asleep; curled up in one of the thin blankets and practically buried in the softness of the plush couch cushions.

How someone as large as Sam could make himself into something so small, Castiel could not fathom. However, he was glad that the man was getting some much-needed rest. It worried him little that he was asleep on the couch; his living room furniture held the same amount of comfort as the two beds in his house.

As quietly as he could, Castiel backed himself away from the couch and back towards the stairs. He would leave his bedroom door open tonight in case Sam woke, so that he would know that it was alright to approach Castiel if he needed anything. For now though, he was quite tired himself, and moved to retire for the night.

In the morning, the smell of food had cerulean blue eyes blinking open lazily. Tousled black hair only worsened when Castiel reached up to run his fingers through it as he stretched in bed. Was Sam already up? Perhaps he shouldn't have been surprised since the man had gone to sleep before he did.

After dressing in new garments and re-attaching the harness to his wings, along with his other trinkets -which he found rather tedious, but it was a requirement of his approaching status-, he descended the stairs to meet the human.

"Sam?"

"In here!" Making his way out of the pantry, Sam held two plates with a small myriad of sandwich toppings for them. "Ah, I'm still trying to figure things out in there, so I hope this is okay."

Castiel nodded, reaching out to help remove a few stacks of books that crowded the table. It looked as if today was going to be a good day; the temperature was nice for being in the later part of autumn, and there was nothing that required him to make a trip to the castle. As it stood, he could simply show the human around his house and help him get acquainted with things.

He was delighted to find that Sam was a quick learner; the crystals and enchanted pottery used for cooking seemed to interest him greatly, and he had gotten the hang of them after only a couple tries. He'd had little issue learning that to bathe, there was a river with a small set of falls nearby, and the barely-contained excitement on the hunter's face when he had told Sam that he could read any book in his large library had Castiel breaking into a full smile.

The rest of the day was spent with the both of them sitting quietly, reading books in the library and making small meals every so-often when either of them got hungry. It was this easy camaraderie that Castiel occasionally had with Charlie, and what made them great friends. With Sam, he was finding he was quickly warming up to the hunter ever faster; their interests extending beyond books to many other things.

Neither noticed when the sun had set and the crickets began their song for the night. But when Sam yawned, Castiel caught the motion while turning a page in his book, and paused. The sudden idea that he wouldn't mind his new friend remaining here for as long as he needed to, was a bit startling.

Shaking himself from his odd musings, he earmarked his page and shut the book in his lap. "It is late. Perhaps rest soon? I am unsure of when the Empress may call upon us for the meeting, but I would not want to bring you when you've not slept well."

Looking up from his own book, Sam blinked. "Oh, uh- wow, it really did get late." His gaze darted to one of the small windows in the room, nearly concealed by books and a bookshelf. The library was just a little disorganized as well as stuffed full, but Castiel had assured him that there was method to the arrangement.

He huffed softly, lips tugging into a brief, faint smile. "I'm actually pretty used to getting only a few hours' sleep, or sometimes being up all night and having to focus hard the next day. It's kind of strange, not having to worry about that. At least for now."

Castiel nodded minutely. He reminded himself that Sam wasn't just a simple human; he was a hunter. Even though he had never been to the human world himself, it was a requirement of his status to know of some of the dangers that could come of it, and human hunters were actually quite high on that list. Humans were not known for being able to separate the dangers of the beasts in their world, with the more gentle creatures of the Fae.

He suddenly found himself very curious about Sam's life.

"Cas?"

Sam's quiet call of his name startled him from his thoughts, and he turned to the other man with an apologetic look. "I will not force you, of course. I am merely suggesting-"

But Sam held up his hands in quiet submission, a sheepish expression stealing over him. Castiel paused. "No no, I- It's fine, really. I get that; you're just thinking about my health, right? Thank you, Cas." Castiel couldn't help the small smile that tugged at his lips.

"Indeed."

Sam returned his smile with one of his own. "I think I'll take you up on that though. Can always read later." He earmarked the page, setting it on the table before he stood and stretched languidly. Castiel wasn't long to follow after; standing and reaching up to adjust the harness on his back with a mild wince. The straps were pinching him.

"Hey uhm… doesn't wearing that bother you?"

Cerulean blue eyes darted up to regard the human thoughtfully. Sam didn't look nervous, or disturbed. If anything, he seemed… curious? Worried? Surprised a bit by the unusual and entirely foreign regard -at least, no one had ever expressed concern like this before-, he hummed quietly and decided to respond truthfully.

"Many in the Fae regard black wings as ill omens. It is very intimidating when I open them, and so I've learned not to. The harness helps keep them in check for this purpose." He murmured. His brows furrowed lightly when Sam's worried expression only worsened a bit. The truth of the matter hung in the air like a weight; Castiel wore the harness for fear of what others thought of him. To hide himself away.

Of course, Sam said nothing for it; nodding gently and reaching up to brush several strands of hair from his face as he expelled a soft gust of air. "It looks very nice though. But uh, if you ever want to take it off just when we're here, it won't bother me. I actually think they look really nice." He said, giving Castiel a small smile before turning to head for the guest room.

Castiel stood there, watching Sam's back as he made his way out and disappeared down the stairs. To say he'd been stunned into silence was a bit of an understatement. As his fingers still hung on a small strap on the harness, his gaze fell to it.

For the first time in a while, he wondered what it would be like to stretch his wings.


End file.
